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| Hiking | 3.50 Miles |
259 AEG |
| | Hiking | 3.50 Miles | 1 Hour 34 Mns | | 2.23 mph |
| 259 ft AEG | | 12 LBS Pack | | |
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| partners | | We began at the Blue Point Rec Site, headed generally along equestrian trails toward Water Users Site before cutting it short and looping back.
Temps: 61-63° F
After our somewhat regular bike trails loop hike yesterday everything had gone so well I thought the lower back pain of two days prior may have just been a false warning, but within half-a-mile I started experiencing pain shooting down my left thigh from the hip.
At first I tried changing my gait, then I tried walking on more solid ground on either side of the soft sandy trail, but nothing helped. Looking back on it, yes, I should have called it quits immediately and turned back but I knew Tracey hoped for at least 4 miles to 'get her steps in' as part of work-sponsored program for a health premium discount, so we kept going until an obvious turn around spot at the gate.
(And NO, I am NOT blaming Tracey for MY decision)
It was rough (the physical effort, not the terrain) but I toughed it out back to the car.
Whew! All that pain for just 3.5 miles? I'll pay for it later.
NOTE: Too long a sad story to follow so you may want to skip the rest.
Later was that evening... my hip and thigh hurt so much I could find no position to sleep in without pain, ultimately I sought the worst, then moved directly to the least so it felt slightly better and then suffered. (Rinse and repeat the worst/least cycle throughout the night)
By time I got out of bed in the morning the pain was so bad I could not stand upright... attempting to do so spiked the pain to the point of collapse.
Obviously this would not do, and so with ominous remembrance of 8 years ago before the first of two lower back surgeries, I'm off to the VA ED. Tracey had left for work an hour earlier so it was up to me to tackle the 30-mile drive on my own, fighting the pain (sitting with backrest fully upright limited the pain somewhat) all the way.
Long story short... (too late?)
After the obligatory x-rays (2 hours after arriving, yet before getting shot for pain) there was a 'mild degenerative change' (arthritis) in the hip compared to a year ago.
However, MOST concerning was the degenerative changes from June 2023 of just about everything in the L3-4 & L4-5 area of the spine. As before, it's likely the electric-like shock pain is a pinched nerve, but at this moment, how to remedy it is the unknown.
While I can't complain for the ~8 years of hiking and biking I've put in since the last back surgery in November 2018, I sure hope this isn't the end of my outdoor activities for months or more. I really hope to avoid another surgery as Tracey has noted in patients she deals with, every successive back surgery seems to hasten further deterioration.
Still another agonizing day before appointment with my VA 'regular provider' doc, and likely more before MRI's and ultimate consult with back specialist, so I'm settling in for the long run... with no hiking or biking for the foreseeable future. |
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